title: Acute spinal cord injury could cause activation of autophagy in dorsal root ganglia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) have an important role in the peripheral mechanism of sensation by primary afferent neurons, which are widely used to research the processes of cell death, axonal regeneration, signal transmission of growth factors and the mechanism of pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present study, we investigated the activation of autophagy in DRGs in a rat model of acute spinal cord injury at different time points.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Expression of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3, a marker of autophagy was increased after 8 h in DRGs, peaked after 3 days, and then gradually decreased after 7 days. Furthermore, the toluidine blue staining has proven that after acute spinal cord injury, the myelin sheathes of DRGs undergo histopathological changes over time, with axonal swellings, disorderly arrangement and uneven distribution.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Potential treatment aimed at recovery of behavioral locomotor and sensory perception should target the process of autophagy in DRGs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology*; D001369:Axons / Q000473:pathology; D004396:Coloring Agents; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000473:pathology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D014048:Tolonium Chloride; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D014048:Tolonium Chloride; C526109:Anxa3 protein, rat